Garment construction



Nov. 24, 1942. P. H. BAILEY I GARMENT CONSTRUCTION I Filed April 1, 19402 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Perla 171.5 ii B191 1 e 5,

BY WMW A TTORNEY.

P.. H. BAILEY 2,302,735

GARMENT CONS TRUCT ION Filed April 1, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOI?fieryrzslifla ley;

ATTORNEY- Patented Nov. 24, 1942 UNITED STATE 2,302,735 GARMENTCONSTRUCTION Perkins H. Bailey,

- Talon, Inc., a corpor New York, N. Y., assignor to ation ofPennsylvania Application April 1, 1940, Serial No. 327,123,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to garments and, in particular, to the provisionof'i'mproved front constructions in such garments, for instance, as areknown as housecoats? and housedresses.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide such constructionsembodying the features of low cost, attractive appearance, utmost easeand facility of ingress and egress, and convenience in adjusting thegarments to forms or figures of widely varying sizes and proportions.

. It is a further object of this invention to prosure and whichlast-named opening is provided with a tongue or gusset extending fromedge to edge thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a constructionwherein the gusset forms a wall of a pocket in the garment skirt aportion.

It is a further object of this invention to pro- I vide suchconstructions, wherein the gusseted opening, which provides an extensionof the slide fastened closure, is partly covered by an overlying portionof the garment waist portion.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a constructionwherein the lower end of the fastener, in the slide fastened closure, is

in overlapping relationship to the skirt portion and gusset andsubstantially free of adjacent garment portions and readily accessiblefor facilitating manual disconnection of the lower ends of the slidefastener in opening the slide fastened closure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide, in such aconstruction,,a new and improved front waist construction embodying aclosure flap comprising a pair of longitudinally extending slidefastener stringer supporting strips or members secured to the waistportion of the garment at thci: u per ends only and provded wi h tiestrings at their lower ends adapted, when the,

stringer supporting strips or'members are connected by the slidefastener, to provide for adjustment of the garment waist portion whilemaintaining the slide fastened closure snug against the waist portionand maintaining the. front closure of the garment closed.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings which form a part thereof, and will be pointed'out in theappended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of an illustrative garment embodying a garmentfront construction according to this invention, with the garment frontclosed;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front construction of Fig. front closure open;

, Fig. 3 is a rear view of the illustrated garment construction of Figs.1 and 2, the lower part of the garment skirt portion being omitted, asin Fig. 2; I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front view of an illustrative. modified form ofgarment construction, the garment front closure being closed and a partof the garment skirt portion being omitted in the interest ofclea'rness;

Fig. 5 is'a view similar to Fig. 4 of the embodimerit of Fig. 4 with thefront garment closure open;

Fig. 6 is a section line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a section taken substantially on the line l-'l' of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 9-9 ofFig. 2.

view of the garment taken substantially on the This invention extendsthe use of slide fas--v teners to low cost garments such asfihousecoats" and housedresses, where the use of other fastening meanshas formerly been dictated by the extremely rigid limitations imposed bythe highly competitive nature -of the low cost garment market. I

Formerly, in the manufacture of garments such as "housecoats andhousedresses, the provis on therein of slide-fastened closures of suchlength as to provide the necessary and desirable large open ng necessaryfor convenience of ingress and egress has been accomplished only withthe accompanying disadvantages. of substantial, if not prohibitive,increase in garment cost. This has been particularly true in the highly,competitive low cost garment field, where the increase of the price ofa garment by a few cents has, quite often, been disastrous to the manu-1 with the garment facturer of the garment in this highly competitivefield.

Slide fasteners are sold by length and, for that reason, the use of afastener of such length as to extend throughout the length of a closureof from 36" to 40" hitherto thought necessary for convenient ingress andegress, formerly, made the price of the slide fastener a substantial, ifnot exorbitant, factor in the sale price of the gar-- ment.

According to this invention, a relatively short slide fastened closureincorporating a slide fastener of short length and therefore, of lowcost, is used in the waist portion of'the garment. An extension of theslide fastened closure opening is provided in the skirt portion of thegarment and gusset means is provided for closing this extension of theslide fastened closure opening. This structure achieves, by the use of acheap slide fastener of short length, the advantages achievableheretofore only by the use of slide fasteners of far greater length andcommensurately greater cost.

Considered in a different way, the front of the garment is provided witha closureopening of such length as to achieve the necessary anddesirable convenience of ingress and egress. A

part only of this closure opening is slide fas-- tened by the use of ashort cheap, separating end slide fastener. That portion of the closureopening which is not slide fastened, is closed by a gusset securedbetween the sides or edges thereof.

By the above, generally described structure, the above enumeratedobjects and advantages are achieved, as will be hereinafter pointed outin detail.

In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the rearportion of the garment extending downwardly from the upper end or neckthereof to the bottom of the skirt and from side to side, will betreated as a unit and designated the back panel. This back panel may, ofcourse, be formed of a single piece of material or of a plurality ofpieces of material secured together in an known manner.

That part of the front wall of the garment which forms the front wall ofthe waist portion of the garment, and which extends from the upper endor neck of the garment downwardly to the waistline of the garment, atleast, and from side to side thereof, will be considered as a unit anddesignated the front waist panel. This front waist panel may, of course,be formed of a single piece of material or made up of a plurality ofpieces of material secured together in any known manner. The front waistpanel is provided with a slide fastenedclosure extending substantiallyfrom its upper end to its lower end.

The other part of the front wall of the garment which extends upwardlyfrom the bottom of the garment to the waist line, at least, and fromside to side of the garment, will be designated the front skirt panel.This front skirt panel forms the front wall of the skirt portion of thegarment.

Conventional details of dressmaking such as stitching, seams, facingsand the like which are not, in themselves, a part of this invention,will be omitted from the following'description and are omitted from thedrawings of this application in the interest of clearness of thedisclosure.

Referring to the drawings in detail and with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3,6, 7 and 9, the back throughout their length, to adjacent edges of theback panel I0. At its upper end, the front skirt panel I2 is secured tothe front waist panel II and is also provided at one side with a pocketslit I6 which slit is closed at its upper end. A slit II,

' which is similar in appearance to pocket slit I6,

panel is generally designated I0, the front waist is disposed at theopposite side of the upper end of the front skirt panel I2, but, unlikethe pocket slit I6, this slit (hereinafter designated the closure slit)extends upwardly to the upper edge of the front skirt panel I2.

Above the pocket slit I6, the upper end of the front skirt panel. I 2 issecured at lid to :he lower end of the front waist panel portion Il fromthe outer edge substantially to the mid-portion of the garment.

An optional collar facin Ila is secured to the inner edge of the frontwaist panel portion ll and the inner edge of the closure slit I1. Thiscollar facing Ila as shown in Fig. 2, extends downwardly on theinneredge of the slit IT, to the bottom of the closure slit I1 andthence upwardly on the outer edgev of the slit I! to the upper end ofthe front skirt panel I2 (Figs. 2 and 7). Those portions of the upperend of the front skirt panel I2 at each side ofthe closure slit I I, 7

between the line of attachment designated Ila and the opposite side ofthe front of the garment, are free of attachment to the front waistpanel Underlying that portion of the upper end of the front skirt panelI2, adjacent the pocket slit I6, is a pocket back wall I 8 which isstitched to the overlying portion of the front skirtpanel I2 and whichhas its upper edge secured to the front skirt panel I2 and front waistpanel portion I4 and l6a, as shown in Fig. 2.

A gusset IQ of shape similar to the pocket back wall I8 is secured inlike manner beneath the closure slit or pocket opening I'I. That is, theouter side edge of the gusset I9 is secured to the skirt panel I2 andback panel III at the side seam of the garment (Figs. 6 and 7), thelower edge and a portion of the inner lateral edge are sewed to theoverlying portion ofthe skirt panel l2, and the upper edge of the gussetI9 is secured to the lower end of the panel portion I5 at I 9a.

The collar facing I50. which is generally similar to the above describedcollar facin Ila, extends from the upper portion of the neck of thegarment downwardly along the inner edge of the front waist panel portionI5 and the gusset I5, as shown in Figs. 2, 6 and '7.

The front skirt panel I 2 is provided adjacentthe upper end of theclosure'slit IT with complementary fastening means, such as the hookmember 2| and eye member 20, as shown in Fig. 2. When the hook member 2|and eye member 20 are disconnected, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7, thegarment closure extends to the lower end of the slit I'I substantiallybelow the waistline of the garment. The closure slit I! also forms theslit or opening of the lefthand pocket of the garment. This closureextension is closed at all times by the gusset I9 whichalso forms theback walltof the lefthand garment pocket of the garmen is designated 42.

In order to provide a slide fastened closure for the garment, a pair oflongitudinally extending slide fastener stringer strips or facings 22are secured at their upper ends only, as by stitching 23, tothe'shoulder portions of the garment at opposite sides of the neckopening to form a closure flap free of attachment to the garment exceptat its upper end. Each of these fastener stringer supporting members or,strips 22 has secured to the inner edge thereof and extending upwardlypart way from its lower end one of the stringers 24 and 25-of aseparating. end slide fastener. The stringer 24, for instance, carriesthe slider 26 and separating end retainer fitting 28 having therein arecess for receiving the pin member 29 carried at the lower end of theother stringer 25.

In order to secure the lower ends of the fastener stringer supportingmembers or strips 22 snugly against the underlying portions of thegarment, a tie member or tie string 30 extends outwardly from the outeredge of each fastener stringer supporting member or strip 22 at its.lower end. These ties 30 are adapted for extension backw'ardly aroundthe waist portion of the garment and over the back panel II], where theyare tied or knotted as shown in Fig. 3, for accomplishing the dualpurpose of maintaining the slide fastener stringer supporting members 22in proper position, and for providing suitable adjustment of the waistportion of, the garment when the front closure thereof is closed.

Considered in another way, stringer supporting members 22 may be said tocomprise a longitudinal flap extending over the overlapped front closureportions of the garment, which flap is provided intermediate its widthwith a slide fastened closure embodying a slide fastener of theseparating end type, by means of which the parts of the flap may beattached and detached. The ties or tie strings 30 may be considered asextending transversely from the lower end of this flap in oppositedirections. That part of the closure opening which .forms an extensionof the overlapped front closure, below the waistline, is closed by thegusset I!) as described above.

In the modification illustrated in Figs.-4 and 5,

' the back panel is designated 40, the front waist panel is designated4| and the front skirt panel These panel's correspond, respectively,with the similar panels III, II and I2 the f astener cess to the fitting28 of the separating bottom end fiting of the slide fastener.

of the garment of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6 to 9 inclusive.

The front waist panel 4| is made up of the righthand portion 44corresponding to the above described portion I4 and a left-hand panelportion 45 corresponding with the above described panel portion l4. Theclosure slit 41, which corresponds with the above described closure slit|1, extends downwardly from the upper end of the front skirt panel 42, asubstantial distance, as

' shown in Fig. 4. ,The upper end of the front skirt panel 42 is securedto the lower end of the front waist panel 4| at each side of the closureslit", a slight spacing of the sides of the slit |1 being preferred inorder to maintain free manual ac- Underlying the closure slit 41 is agusset 49 of generally triangular form, the inclined edges of the gusset49 being secured to opposite side edges of the closure slit 41, as shownin Fig. 8, and the ends of the straight upper side being attached to thefront waist panel poi tions 44 and 45 at oppos.te sides or the slide,fastened closure.

It W111 oe noted that in this embodiment, the

slide fastener is secured directly to the inner edges of the front waistpanel portions 44 and 45, and the ties or tie strings 30, provided inthe first described embodiment, are' omitted from the front of thegarment. It is preferred that these ties be attached to the back panelof the garment, which corresponds with the above described backpanel ID,or the side portions of the front waist panel 4|, or to the adjacentupper end of the front skirt panel, at both sides,

or, alternatively, attached to both.

The above-described embodiments are illustrative of the application ofthe broad principle described in my copending application Serial No.

325,992, filed March 26, 194.0, to garments em-' bodying a gusset closedextension in the skirt portion of the garment for a slid fastenedclosure in the waist portion thereof; the application of the broadprinciple of this invention to other types of garments, wherein theextension for theslide fastened closure is provided by a wrap-aroundclosure extension in the skirt portion of the garment is described andclaimed inmy copending application Serial No. 326,105, filed March 29,1940.

Itis, of course, to be understood that the above description is merelyillustrative and in nowise limiting and that I desire to comprehendwithin my invention all modifications included within the scope of theappended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a garment of the class described, a garment front having therein afront opening extending, downwardly from its upper end, an expandiblegusset secured to the lower part of the edges forming said opening, andmeans including ,a separating end slide fastener secured to said edgesfrom the top thereof to said gusset for closing that portion of saidopening above said gusset and fastening together the edge portions ofsaid opening immediately adjacent the upper edge of said gusset.

2. In a garment as in claim 1, said garment includinga waist panel and askirt panel, and saidgusset being positioned in said skirt panel withits upper edge lying substantially at the waist line of said garment.

3. In a garment as in claim 1, said garment including a waist panel anda skirt panel, and said gusset comprising a triangular insertion in saidskirt panel and constituting a pocket the mouth of which is the unclosedportion of said opening. v

PERKINS H. BAILEY.

